Study Says Mantle Waves Triggered East Antarctic Ice Sheet 34 Million Years Ago
Updated
Updated · Devdiscourse · Jul 2
Study Says Mantle Waves Triggered East Antarctic Ice Sheet 34 Million Years Ago
3 articles · Updated · Devdiscourse · Jul 2
Summary
Researchers say East Antarctica's first major ice sheet formed about 34 million years ago because geological uplift raised parts of the continent high enough for permanent ice.
A process that began roughly 160 million years ago—mantle waves tied to tectonic plate movement and Gondwana's breakup—pushed up the terrain past the elevation threshold needed for glaciation.
The finding helps explain why East Antarctica glaciated even when global temperatures were warmer than today, resolving a long-standing mismatch between climate conditions and early ice growth.
That ice-sheet formation marked the start of Earth's shift from a greenhouse world toward the cooler climate state that followed, underscoring how topography can steer global climate change.
If tectonic uplift triggered Antarctica's ice age, not just CO2, what does this mean for our climate models?
A lost tectonic structure was found under Antarctica's ice. What other secrets about Earth's past does it hold?
How Deep Earth Tectonics Preconditioned Antarctica for Ice: New Evidence, Methods, and Implications for Sea Level Rise
Overview
Recent research reveals that Antarctica's summer sea ice has dramatically declined in recent years, with the Amundsen Sea nearly losing all its summer ice. This highlights the continent's dynamic and vulnerable cryosphere. Scientists have found that oceanic feedbacks are key drivers of rapid ice loss and are shaping new glaciation patterns. To understand these changes, researchers are combining marine sediment core analysis with geological and geomorphological surveys. This integrated approach helps trace how the East Antarctic Ice Sheet has responded to past climate shifts, offering crucial insights into its current instability and future behavior.